


Make the Yuletide Gay

by Lilzylou



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: Angst, Christmas Time, Dancing, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, Fluff, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, Internalized Homophobia, Kissing, Lesbian AU, Nina and Shuga own an LGBT center, SO MUCH FLUFF, Snow, Teen AU, Vanessa loves her mom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-06-24 20:23:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19731118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilzylou/pseuds/Lilzylou
Summary: Brooke hated December in Pennsylvania. The snow was nice for a few days, but then it just got annoying. Especially now that she was wandering through random streets without a place to stay, shivering and swearing with every snowflake that fell on her. If she didn't know any better, she would've thought her tears had frozen on her face.Vanessa loved hanging out at the center. It was a place of solace ever since she came out to her mother. But unlike the rest of the kids, she wasn't there because she had to be. She just loved the place, maybe as much as she loved snow and her mom.When Brooke Lynn Hytes shows up at Welcome Home, a youth LGBT center run by Nina West and Shuga Cain, she is met not only with one of the warmest and safest places she's ever been, but also a gorgeous girl who she thinks might just be able to fix her broken spirit.And Vanessa will be damned if she doesn't make this the best Christmas Brooke has ever had.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there folks! This is my first time publishing to AO3, so please excuse any formatting errors for now as I'm still trying to figure it out. I'll try to update pretty frequently and the amount of chapters posted in info is just an estimate. Thanks a bunch and please enjoy!

It was dark, and cold, and fucking wet. Brooke hated December in Pennsylvania. The snow was nice for a few days, but then it just got muddy and, more than anything, annoying. Especially now that she was wandering through random streets without a place to stay, shivering and swearing with every snowflake that fell on her. If she didn't know any better, she would've thought her tears had frozen on her face.

As she pulled her arms tighter around her thin frame, she cursed herself and how stupid she had been. What was she thinking, coming out to her mom, nevertheless on a particularly cold December night? Part of her thought that her mother's views would change immediately upon finding out her daughter was one of the very people she loathed most. She laughed bitterly.

She hadn't realized she was crying again until she felt a tear roll off her chin. She had been so naïve. Deep down, she knew her mother was too conservative to accept a lesbian as her daughter. It was wishful thinking. Now, because of her foolishness, she was lost in the cold with nowhere to turn and nothing but the sweater on her back, thirty-four dollars in spare cash, and her phone, only half charged.

She peered down at her fingertips, which had started to lose feeling except for a dull stinging. She wished she had at least thought to bring gloves or a scarf. A jacket would have been nice. The snow had soaked into her shoes and socks, making her every step painful as the damp cold chilled her toes to the bone. Everything was either hurt or numb. Brooke wondered if she would get hypothermia and perish in the streets. Maybe it would be better than living without a home. She knew she was being dramatic, but that didn't make her feel any better.

She paused for a moment outside a restaurant that had heaters on the patio. Nobody dared to sit outside, it was far too cold, but for Brooke, this was the most warmth she had had in hours. Her body stung from the harsh contrast of her cold skin and the space heater's warmth. As she stood under the heater, rubbing her sore hands together and trying to regain some body heat, she remembered a story she had seen on the news a few weeks back.

-+-

_"In other news, a local LGBT youth center was commended for being the best in the Northeast just a few days ago. Owners of "Welcome Home" Nina West and Sylvia "Shuga" Cain accepted an award this past Saturday from GLSEN for outstanding-"_

_The face of the news lady disappeared from the screen as it snapped to black, startling Brooke._

_"Brooke Lynn, stop watching that nonsense, it's going to mess up your head. Now for the fourth time, please go do the dishes."_

_Brooke looked back at her mother and nodded before rising silently and going to do her chores. Brooke neglected to acknowledge that this was the first time she had been asked, instead starting the tap and getting to scrubbing the pots from supper._

_She loved her mother, but that didn't mean she wasn't afraid of her._

-+-

It seemed like a relatively good option. Brooke was a 17-year-old lesbian, she was now homeless, and she had nowhere else to go, so she fit the few criteria of going to the center. The only problem now was trying to figure out where it was and how to get there. Luckily, if there was one thing Brooke knew about her mom, it was that she wasn't technologically advanced. With that in mind, she figured she could at least take advantage of that until she had figured herself out.

She struggled to type with frozen fingers, having to go back and delete text a few times before she finally found what she was looking for. The center was in Philadelphia. She was in Allentown. A bus ride from Allentown to Philly was seventeen dollars, only half of the money she had brought. It was certainly better than wandering through the dark, cold streets of inner-city Allentown. Now to find the nearest bus stop and hope for the best.

-+-

Vanessa loved hanging out at the LGBT center. She had been visiting for two years now, ever since she came out to her mom at fourteen. But unlike the rest of the kids, she wasn't there because she had to be. She just loved the place.

Initially, Vanessa had been hesitant to tell her mom she was gay. Her mom was her entire world and she wasn't sure what she would do if she lost that relationship. She wanted her coming out to be as thought out, intricate, and least abrupt as possible.

Which is why she blurted it out over dinner at Applebee's one night through a mouthful of french fries.

But her mom didn't frown, or flinch, or recoil in disgust. Instead, she took a sip of her water and smiled.

"I know," she had said. "I've known since you were five. You punched a boy on the playground for looking too long at one of the girls you liked to play with."

Since then, Vanessa lived authentically as herself. A strong, confident lesbian teen who wore her heart on her sleeve and wasn't afraid to fuck a bitch up. And standing right by her side the entire time was her mother.

It had been her mom's idea to visit the center since was a space for all LGBT kids, not just homeless ones. She told Vanessa it would be good for her, she could meet some teenagers her age with similar interests, and maybe find some interest, "if you know what I mean". (This elicited a huge eye roll from Vanessa, of course.) So, to make her mom happy, she went once.

She had never stopped going back since.

And if she started calling Ms. West and Ms. Cain "Aunt Nina and Tìa Shuga", nobody said anything.

Now, it was December, Vanessa's favorite time at the center. She loved celebrating with the other kids, from Christmas, to Hanukkah, to Kwanza. She loved seeing the looks on her friends' faces as she handed them gifts, usually something small but still enough to elicit a bright smile and a big hug. She decided it was one of her favorite things, right behind her mother and snow.

It was the second Thursday of the month. The snow had been falling in large clumps, looking like cotton balls drifting from the sky. Vanessa's favorite kind of snow. So, as soon as school got out, she went with her friends Yvie, A'keria, and Ariel to the center. Her friends would spend their nights at the youth shelter, but Vanessa would just stay to hang out with them before going back to her apartment. After some back and forth, Vanessa's friends finally convinced her that she could skip her homework for just a day to go have some fun in the snow before it melted away. Vanessa knew it wouldn't melt, it was mid-December and nights were getting shorter and colder with snow in the forecast for the next week. She gave in anyway, though, with grumbles about peer pressure and how "if I fail Calculus, I'm blaming you guys." It wouldn't hurt her just this once.

After a few hours of building forts and drawing lewd pictures in the snow with sticks, the sun had set and their fingers felt frozen. The girls went back inside, where Nina insisted on feeding Vanessa dinner with all the other kids ("It's fine," Vanessa had said for the hundredth time. "I have food at home." Nina, though, would not take no for an answer.) and in return, Vanessa made enough of her Abuela's famous Mexican hot chocolate so that everybody in the center could have a cup. As she ladled the drink into mugs, she made sure nobody was looking before slipping a ten into the spare change jar sitting on the kitchen counter.

It was nearly eleven and Vanessa was tired and knew her mom was probably worried sick. So, after insisting on taking care of the dishes and hugging Aunt Nina and Tìa Shuga goodnight, she shrugged on her jacket and backpack to head home.

As she opened the door to leave, however, she found herself face to face with a girl she had never seen before, standing on the stoop and looking absolutely frozen.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, thanks for sticking around!  
> I want this to be as good as I can make it, so if you've got any criticism at all, don't hesitate to share it with me in the comments! Thanks!

After a little over an hour on an empty bus, Brooke was in Philadelphia. The drive had given her some time to warm up, as well as to think. All of her thoughts, however, always lead back to one thing: if she weren't gay, her life would be a lot better.

She knew it wasn’t healthy to reason that way. Ultimately, though, she couldn’t get it out of her head. _Maybe I would have friends_ , she had thought, _maybe my mom would love me_. As much as she attempted to tell herself no, this is who she is and it’s okay, Brooke believed that deep down, it was her fault and she was wrong for feeling the way she did.

She missed Toronto. There, she had friends, and family who loved and accepted her, and amazing memories. In Pennsylvania, everything seemed to dull in comparison. It was probably just the negative experiences, but everything about the state left a sour taste in her mouth. Maybe that’s why she had driven away everybody who tried to be her friend at her new school. Probably. But she would never admit that to herself.

Brooke accepted the fact that she was stubborn; it was something she took on from her mother. Often times it meant that she made things more difficult than they had to be, but sometimes it was a good thing. She stuck to her beliefs and always made sure everything was absolutely perfect.  
Still, it also meant that she almost always refused any help. Brooke knew, however, she would have to let go of that when she got to the LGBT youth center.

Brooke's phone died not quite halfway through the bus ride, leaving her to gaze out the window at the passing streetlamps and spattering of stars across the sky. Admittedly, that was one of the things she loved about Pennsylvania. After living in Toronto for most of her life, she had gotten used to the light pollution from the city. In Pennsylvania, though, even the biggest cities are still fairly small and isolated, meaning she could gaze up at the sky and actually see the stars. She loved to try and find the constellations. The Big Dipper, Ursa Major, Orion and his dogs, Taurus, Pegasus, Perseus, among others. It was relaxing to gaze up at the night sky and try to find pictures amongst the array of twinkling lights.

She had almost fallen asleep when the bus stopped, the driver announcing they were in Philadelphia. Brooke rubbed her eyes, rose with a deep breath, and stepped off the bus.

Just like that, she was in the cold again, stranded in another unfamiliar city, this time with no phone to guide her.

Brooke walked aimlessly for a while, taking in the difference of architecture from when she had just come from. She was paying so much attention that she almost died noticet hay she had stumbled across a tourist center which, to her relief, was still open.

She entered the building but lingered just inside the doorway, looking around and taking in the Philadelphia memorabilia and various displays of American Revolution artifacts. Brooke seemed to momentarily forget that other people were around at all, it seemed, as soon was startled by a voice across the room. 

"Hi, how can I be of assistance to you?" A lady stood at the reception desk, looking at Brooke expectantly. The woman looked tired. Brooke wondered what _she_ looked like right now.

"Yeah, uh," Brooke stopped to clear her throat. "Do you- is there a, erm, map? Of the city?"

The woman's expression didn't change as she gestured to a pile of pamphlets on the counter. "We have a few different maps of the area, come see if one of these can help you get where you need to go."

Brooke nodded absently and approached the desk, looking at all of the merchandise she passed along the way. However, when she got the third design and stared down at the maps, it occurred to Brooke that she had no clue where she was or the address of where she needed to be.

"Do you know where the center is?"

The woman glanced up from her computer. "I'm sorry? Where do you need to be, miss?"

"It's a youth center? I think it's called, um, Welcome Back? Welcome something."

The woman's face lit up. "Ah! Welcome Home. I know the ladies who own the place; they're wonderful women. If you look here..."

Brooke watched as the lady took one of the maps and a sharpie, circling where she needed to go and tracing the roads she could take to get there fastest. She paused for a moment and typed something into her computer before glancing back up and writing the address in the bottom corner of the map.

"Be careful getting there; there's some ice on the sidewalks that can be pretty hard to see, especially right now in the dark." Brooke nodded, thanked the lady, and took the map, already turning to leave when the woman spoke again. "I hope things turn out alright for you." There was an unmistakable look of pity in her eyes. Brooke hated it.

But just like that, it was gone, and the lady was looking back down at her computer again.

Once outside the doors of the tourist center, Brooke took a moment to breathe.Then she broke down again.

She was so fucking tired.

-+-

As it turns out, the youth center wasn't that far away and Brooke was able to get there in around fifteen minutes. In the time it took her to walk the four blocks to the center, Brooke Lynn was able to collect her feelings, come up with a story that didn't sound too bad, and put on her brave face. She couldn't tell the people there the full truth. She didn't want their pity and she definitely didn't want to make it seem like her mom was abusive.

 _She did kick me out of the house into below-freezing weather_ , Brooke thought, but she shook it away. It wasn't her mom's fault, if anything it had been her own. She was the one who had decided to come out when she did, despite knowing her mom's history with religion.

Besides, a lot of the kids there had probably endured worse.

She told herself this as she walked down New Hope Street, looking at every address until she found building number 1115. When she came to the front of the building, it wasn't what she expected. There was nothing to show what it was except for a small rainbow flag fixed to the stair railing with zip ties.

She had traveled all the way here, and now she almost regretted it. Maybe she shouldn't have come. If she had talked to her mom a little more, maybe the woman would have understood. Brooke knew that she was being irrational; she had nowhere else to go and this place would be safe- or at least safer than home.

That didn't keep her from standing outside the door for upwards of ten minutes though, going back and forth in her head over whether or not this was the best idea.

She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't even notice that the door had been opened until she heard the shout for help.

Before she knew quite what was going on, Brooke was drawn inside and swarmed by two women as the girl who opened the door stood a few feet away and looked on with worry in her eyes.

"Hey, I'm Nina and this is Shuga. We're going to help you out, okay? What's your name, honey? Could you tell us where you're from?" The blonde lady to her left asked her. Brooke took a moment to process what she had said before stumbling to respond.

"Oh, uh, I'm Brooke. I'm coming from," She blanked, forgetting what she had rehearsed in her head. "...from not too far." Brooke cursed how vague she was; now they were definitely going to ask more questions that Brooke wasn't prepared to answer.

Nina didn't comment on Brooke's bluff, though. Instead she pursed her lips and looked back up to the other lady with worry in her eyes. Brooke saw Nina mouth, "she's ice-cold" to the other woman, Shuga, who nodded in response.

"Hey Vanessa, I know you were just about to leave, but could you do me a favor and go grab a blanket from the linen closet?" Shuga asked the girl who opened the door. The girl nodded and ran up the stairs located just inside the foyer.

"Well Brooke, if you follow me in, we'll get you warmed up. Then you can tell Shuga and me a little bit more about yourself, sound good?"

Brooke just nodded and followed along behind Nina and Shuga into the house. They walked down a hallway before turning into what Brooke assumed was the kitchen, connected to a living space where a group of girls went quiet and turned to look at Brooke and the two women leading her through the house.

"Upstairs, please," Shuga told the girls, who all instantly stood to leave down the hallway. Before they left, they all smiled at Brooke.

She couldn't believe how friendly everybody was here.

Nina pulled a chair out for Brooke, who sat and glimpsed around the room as Shuga took a seat across from her. She looked back to where Nina had gone further into the kitchen and saw that the woman had already started cooking something over the stove.

"So tell us a little bit about yourself, Miss Brooke," Shuga said with a warm smile. The woman radiated maternal energy and Brooke felt at ease; she didn't think twice before speaking.

"I, well," Brooke took a deep breath to contain herself, already getting caught up in her emotions. "I'm seventeen, and I'm... I came out to my mom today, and she uh, told me that she, well...," She couldn't finish her sentence as she started to cry again.

She didn't think she had ever cried so much in her life. She felt pathetic as she hid her face in her hands. She hated being vulnerable around other people, especially when they were practically strangers.

Brooke heard Shuga sigh and the squeak of a chair as the woman got up, then felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright, honey, you don't have to talk about it right now. Oh, thank you Vanjie." Brooke felt a warmth envelope her shoulders and pawed at the tears on her face so she could look up for a second. There was that girl again, smiling at her.

"Hey," the girl said. Her voice was a lot harsher than Brooke had expected. "These two are amazing. They've gotcha covered." The girl seemed to hesitate for a moment, before smiling mischievously. "And they'll fatten yo' skinny ass up a little, too." She gave Brooke a wink and snickered as she was driven out of the kitchen by Shuga.

That was the first time Brooke laughed in a very, very long time.

-+-

Brooke nearly fell asleep twice while eating the sandwich Nina made her. As soon as she finished her food, she was led upstairs and down a hall to the left, shown where she could find the bathroom and extra blankets, and stopped outside of a door at the end of the hallway. Shuga opened the door, revealing a room with a bed, a nightstand, and a window overlooking a small, snow-covered courtyard.

"It's not much," Nina started, "but it's just for a night or two until you can get yourself acclimated. I hope you don't mind too much."

Brooke shook her head and stepped into the room to get a better look around. "It's great." She turned around and smiled at Nina and Shuga. "Thank you."

"No problem, sweetheart. We're in the two rooms right across the hall if you need either of us. You sure you'll be good for tonight? We can get you all settled tomorrow, but right now it's best if you get some sleep." Nina cared too much for her own good, Brooke thought.

"I think I'm okay." The women nodded and turned to leave. "Wait, actually. Is there anywhere I could charge my phone? It died on my way here."

"I'll ask around, somebody else might have one they can lend you for now. Anything else?" Brooke shook her head and thanked them again, watching after them as they left.

She flopped back on the bed and sighed. Brooke had never felt this taken care of in her entire life. With her mom, it was always "act like an adult, I'm not going to be around to tend to your every need forever." Here though, that was out the window. It was weird but certainly not bad. Brooke hoped that this wasn't just temporary.

After appreciatively accepting a charger Shuga had borrowed from one of the other kids, Brooke settled down to get some sleep. It didn't take long before she was out and dreaming of a life without pain.

-+-

Meanwhile, Vanessa had to stop four times on her walk home from the LGBT youth center to collect her thoughts. She couldn't get this girl out of her damn head. The way she looked absolutely helpless on the steps outside of the house, the way her voice sounded absolutely void of emotion, how when she cried, she seemed wrecked.

How she smiled and laughed when Vanessa joked with her.

Vanessa shook her head at herself. This poor girl just arrived at the center, she didn't need Vanessa romanticizing her.

Still, when she thought about the girl, Vanessa felt something warm in her chest that refused to be pushed away.

Boy, was she in for a long ride.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back, bitches. Sorry it took so long. Brace yourself for lots of dialogue!  
> Enjoy! <3

Brooke's first full day at Welcome Home was odd, to say the least.

Waking up in an unfamiliar place was, of course, jarring, but as the memories came rushing back, she felt safer than ever. It got weird when she went downstairs to see Shuga and Nina having a conversation over coffee with no other kids to be seen.

"Good morning," Brooke's voice was quiet and hesitant but enough to catch the attention of the women in front of her.

Nina was all sunshine and smiles as soon as she saw Brooke in the entryway behind her. "Hi Brooke, good morning! The other kids are at school right now, but we decided to let you sleep in for a while since you've got a long day ahead of you. Oh, and would you like coffee? There's still some in the pot, and there are mugs in the cabinet above the coffee maker."

Ah, coffee. Her one true love.

As Brooke shuffled over to the counter to get her daily dose of caffeine, Shuga piped up. "So, we know it's still pretty overwhelming and you just got here, but we're going to need a little info on you so we can keep you here and help you as best we can. Do you think you'd be willing to talk to us for a little bit, honey? You can tap out at any time."

The difference in the way Nina and Shuga articulated was astounding, Brooke had noticed. Nina was always soft and careful, like a mama hen. Shuga, on the other hand, spoke freely, yet still had this air of warmth about her. It was almost amusing and all too comforting.

Brooke hummed in affirmation and walked back over to the table, where she took the chair at the end and sat down easily. Not a bone in her body felt in danger or nervous. As Nina excused herself to go grab some files and paperwork, Brooke and Shuga sipped their coffee in solidarity; Brooke didn't feel out of place next to this near-stranger, she felt comfortable.

Nina returned with a small stack of papers and sat down with a huff, then smiled up at Brooke. "Alright," She chirped, "you ready?"

Brooke nodded and set her mug down. "Ready."

"First thing's first: Full name." Shuga was matter-of-fact, and you could tell this wasn't her first time in charge.

"Brooke Lynn Hytes. I go by Brooke or Brooke Lynn."

Nina nodded with pursed lips and scribbled Brooke's response down on the form in front of her.

"Age?" Shuga asked.

"Just turned 17."

The questions were all basic, ping-ponging between Shuga and Brooke as Nina filled in the corresponding paperwork.

For some reason, though, it hadn't occurred to Brooke that she would have to tell Shuga and Nina location-based questions.

"And where were you previously living?" The question was innocent and unassuming. There was no reason to hesitate or leave it unanswered. Yet Brooke just sat there, not saying a word.

"Brooke?" Shuga's tone had changed. It was more careful, softer. Like Nina.

"279 Hamilton Boulevard, in Allentown."

She could feel eyes on her as she looked down. It was uncomfortably quiet, aside from the shuffling of papers.

"Allentown?" Nina repeated. "That's over an hour away."

Brooke nodded but didn't look up.

"How did you get here?" There was an edge to Shuga's voice that Brooke couldn't quite put her finger on.

"I took a bus."

"By yourself?"

"How else?" Brooke finally looked up and analyzed the two faces in front of her. Nina looked like she wanted to cry, Shuga looked shocked, but generally, the overlying expression was concern.

"I mean, I'm fine. I got here, right? And I'm okay. I only knew of this place, so I came here. That's okay, right?"

"Yeah, of course," Nina replied. "That's just a long way to come, especially by yourself when you're not doing too well."

"But what matters is that you're safe and you're here now," Shuga finished.

Brooke just quietly agreed, and then they were back to asking questions.

-+-

After a few hours of legal matters, Brooke spent most of her day in her room trying to ground herself. She browsed the internet on her phone, danced a little bit, stared out the window at the snow, whatever she could to keep her mind occupied.

Then at five after three, the front door opened and she could hear the influx of voices and excitement from downstairs. She heard Nina's voice and the sound of Shuga laughing, joined by the laughter of at least a dozen other people.

Well, Brooke may be reserved, but she at least wanted to meet the people she'd be living with for however long. Gruelingly, she dragged herself out from under the blankets of her bed and left her room. Her emergence from upstairs seemed to be an event in and of itself.

Suddenly, she had countless pairs of eyes on her, some curious, others warm.

"Hi." She punctuated her arrival with a tiny wave which was reciprocated by roughly half the people in front of her. "I'm Brooke Lynn."

The room launched back to life and suddenly Brooke felt like she was at church again, shaking hands with everybody and politely smiling and commenting with each person who introduced themselves to her. She stowed away every name matched with a face, as well as pronouns and the occasional orientation. Brooke knew she was at an LGBT center, but she wasn't sure she'd ever be so bold as to tell somebody else her sexuality right off the bat. It was almost touching, though, that these people immediately trusted her with something like that.

"Guys, give her a second to _breathe_! Y'all are like vultures over here, calm down!" Shuga exclaimed, stopping the assault of questions from the other kids, much to Brooke's relief. "She just got here last night, give her a minute to figure stuff out."

Brooke smiled up at Shuga, who winked back at her.

The sound of the door opening again alerted Brooke, who perked up and glanced over at the hallway. A group of girls, all laughing, entered the room while talking happily amongst themselves. It took them a moment to realize that everybody was sitting there staring at them, but as soon as they did, they fell quiet.

"Y'all what's going on- oh. Hey." One of the girls said.

The chattering began again as the crowd started to disperse, decidedly all tired of the introduction routine.

To combat the noise around them, the group stepped towards Brooke to properly introduce themselves.

"A'keria, introduce yourself, Kiki," it was the same girl Brooke had seen several times now, elbowing her friend in the side and muttering to her through closed teeth.

"Oh!" The girl seemed to reboot, then smiled up at Brooke. "I'm A'keria. And you are?" 

"Brooke Lynn. Nice to meet you." A'keria smiled back at her then shot the no-name girl a look. 

"And we've met before," the girl said, winking and stepping forward towards Brooke. "Vanessa. Or Vanjie. Either is fine."

Brooke nodded with a smile and put her hand out for Vanessa to shake, but was pulled into a hug instead.

"I'm glad you're alright," Vanessa whispered, quiet enough that nobody else could hear. She pulled back, taking Brooke by the shoulders and giving her a crooked smile. "Have you met all the crazies yet?"

"Girl, have you already forgotten that we're over here?" One of the people from Vanessa's friend group asked. The girl had big hair, big lips, and Lisa Frank-like makeup. She looked like a living Bratz doll.

"Oh," Vanessa said, casually dismissing her friends. "Those two over there are Ariel and Yvie." Ariel placed her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes, whereas Yvie just sort of waved with a big grin. " _Now_ you've met all the crazies."

For the second time, Vanessa had made Brooke laugh.

-+-

After mostly everybody retreaded to their various corners of the house, Brooke, Vanessa, and Ariel were the only ones left in the living room.

Brooke enjoyed just listening to Vanessa talk; she went on, describing each of the people Brooke had been introduced to in detail, knowing everybody inside and out despite not living at the center.

"So why do you come here if you're not...,"

"Homeless?" Vanessa finished. She shrugged and leaned back into the couch cushions. "It's cool around here. Everybody is great and we're like a big family." She paused for a moment, then fluttered her eyelashes at Brooke with a goofy smile. "And I always come back by popular demand"

This elicited a snort from Ariel, who was sitting across the room staring at her phone. Vanessa snapped over to stare at her friend with a mock glare. "Hey, watch yourself, hoe. Don't say it ain't true."

"Of course it's true, Vanjie," Ariel replied flatly, not looking up from her phone.

"How 'bout you walk yo' little ass over here and I can show you it's true, bitch."

Ariel just puckered her lips at Vanjie in return.

It was amusing to Brooke, like watching a cat tease an angry chihuahua. A chihuahua who Brooke found incredibly cute and kissable.

Not that she would ever admit it to herself.

Then the attention was back on Brooke again, as Vanjie resumed their conversation.

"So what brought you here anyway, Mami? If you don't mind me askin'."

Brooke thought for a moment on how to respond. Should she tell Vanessa the whole story? Or just the bare minimum?

"I came out to my mom yesterday afternoon, and...you know. She's super religious, so she's not exactly the best about the whole gay thing, especially now that it's her own daughter." Brooke stopped to take in the look Vanessa was giving her. It was sad, but it wasn't pitying. "I sort of expected it, I guess, but that doesn't make it hurt any less. It's...that's my mom, you know?"

Brooke could feel the wetness behind her eyes as she looked down at her lap. Despite all the horrible things that had been yelled at her last night, she missed her mom.

She looked up when Vanessa placed a hand on her shoulder and was pulled into yet another hug. Vanessa's hugs were warm and comfortable and Brooke honestly wouldn't mind hugging her all day.

"You're taking it pretty well, honestly," Vanessa said as she pulled away. "Some of these kids wouldn't talk to nobody but Nina and Shuga for weeks after they got here.

"I guess I'm just used to letting people down, so-"

Brooke was cut off by Vanessa lightly slapping her on the hand. "Bitch, don't say that about yourself! We ain't here for that self-deprida- derrica- dec-" She sighed. "That "put yourself down" shit. Here it's nothin' but good mojo. Got that?"

And maybe it was the odd sincerity, maybe it was the stuttering, but Brooke laughed and agreed, despite what she was telling herself.

-+-

"So," Ariel started as soon as she had the door closed to the bedroom. "What's up with you and that Brooke girl?" She was smirking, her eyebrows raised, and Vanessa just wanted to slap the look off of her pretty little face.

There were two bunk beds per room, so to fit all the kids at the shelter, so it was obvious that A'keria, Ariel, and Yvie would all share a room, leaving one extra bed that Vanjie would sleep in from time to time.

Each corner was personalized to the person who occupied it, with a rainbow flag being the center point of the room, hung over the window to block some of the morning sunlight.

Currently, the room was decked out in string lights and there was a small plastic Christmas tree in the corner. There were crudely-wrapped gifts under the tree for when Christmas came around, as well as poorly made felt stockings hanging off of each person's bed. It wasn't much, but it was festive enough to get everybody in a holiday spirit.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Vanessa mumbled, flopping onto the spare bed and burying her face in a pillow.

"You don't hug just anybody," Yvie commented from the bed directly above her. The girl leaned over the side of the bed so that she could face Vanessa, hanging upside down rather than just coming down from her bunk.

"Shut up," Vanessa groaned into the pillow, then rolled over to glare at her friends. "I just think she's cool."

"Is that a new word for hot?" A'keria chirped, glancing up from her phone.

Vanessa just threw her pillow in response, narrowly missing Yvie's face.

"Girl, calm down. We're just teasing you," Yvie said, rolling her eyes and popping back up to her bed before climbing down the ladder to sit by Vanessa.

Ariel smiled over at Vanessa from where she sat on the top bunk across the room. "She's nice, and we saw the way you looked at her."

"She cute, too," A'keria added.

"And I just met her. She may not even be gay."

"Bitch she's here for a reason."

"I guess. But still! I'm prolly not her type. She's all proper, I'm all ghetto. It don't mix."

"You say, even though Scarlet and Yvie have had a thing going on for a month now."

"Hey!" This time it was Yvie getting embarrassed by Ariel's remarks. "We're just...really good friends."

"Mhm, whatever you say," A'keria mocked.

And even though they could all get on her nerves, Vanessa loved her friends, even if they teased her.

Besides, it's not like they were wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise there will be more of Vanessa's perspective next chapter! :)
> 
> **7/26- I promise I haven't abandoned ship! I'm binging all of rpdr before my prime trial runs out because I don't feel like making another throwaway amazon account. We love watching 1.5 seasons a day!!  
> I have some future chapters pretty much finished already so that means I won't take a million years to post again! Promise. Next chapter will hopefully be coming out this weekend.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your support and patience! It means a lot to me!  
> I just want to say that I know how supportive (almost) all the queens' families are, and I love them all! The story just wouldn't work if I didn't have my gays all in one place, lmao  
> Without further ado, let's get this show on the road!

"Alright, boo, get over here."

Brooke had been at the center for around a week, and she loved it there. The other kids were great, Nina and Shuga took excellent care of her, and she hadn't been so authentically herself in a while. This place was really great for her, and after she started going to the nearby school, she really flourished.

The only problem was that she only really talked to one person; that person being Vanessa.

Sure, she talked to Shuga and Nina plenty, as if they were her own, more accepting mothers. But her peers? Not a lot of interaction there.

So as much as Vanessa loved having Brooke's attention all the time and hearing about how her classes went, she knew that she needed to get the girl to open up a bit.

"What's up, Ness?" Brooke dropped whatever homework she was doing and looked up at Vanessa where she stood in the doorway of Brooke's temporary room.

"You need to get yourself acquainted, bitch. Come on, study later, talk now."

Brooke sort of just cocked her head, but followed nonetheless.

Vanessa led Brooke outside of the room where A'keria, Yvie, and Ariel stayed, then did some sort of cryptic knock on the door and was immediately let inside by Ariel.

"Speak of the devil. The girls and I were just talking about you and how you've been so obsessed with-" Ariel cut herself off the moment she noticed Brooke towering behind Vannessa. "-the snow."

If Brooke noticed Ariel's flub, she didn't say anything as she followed in behind Vanessa.

"Oh, you brought company! Hey, Brooke." Yvie greeted, putting down the novel that was in her hand and leaning over the side of the bunk.

"Hi."

"Look y'all, I figured since you hoes talk instead of doing your work anyways-"

"Not true!"

Vanessa gave A'keria a look as Yvie laughed.

With a roll of her eyes, she continued, "I thought you wouldn't mind if Brooke joined us today. She's a little too tight if you know what I mean."

"You kinky bitch," Yvie mumbled.

Brooke snorted from behind Vanessa as the girl went red.

No, she really wouldn't mind hanging out with these girls for a little while.

-+-

After going through everybody's favorite color, dream pet, and top five movies, the questions started to move past small talk and into the realm of getting to genuinely know one another.

"So Brooke," Yvie had taken a seat next to A'keria to not make asking questions awkward. "What lies do you tell most often?"

"Going for the serious shit now, damn," A'keria muttered.

It took Brooke a minute to think before responding. "Well, before it was that I was straight. And, not too be too extra, but saying I was okay when I really wasn't. That I was from America? And um..." She grinned. "That I had practiced the dance at home when I really hadn't."

"Ooh, a dancer. What kind of dance do you do?"

"It's not your turn, Mary!" Vanessa yelled at Ariel, who stuck her tongue out. Brooke just laughed.

"Ballet. My legs have always been really long and awkward so I stumbled a lot as a kid. My mom got frustrated at my lack of grace eventually and signed me up for classes. I loved it. There's nothing like losing yourself in your movements, and then all you know is the music around you and your body, like nothing else even exists." Brooke sighed wistfully. She missed ballet. Her new school had a dance hall for those who took dance class as a gym credit, but it wasn't quite the same as a studio. Sure, there was a wall of mirrors and some ballet bars around the room, but otherwise, the environment was entirely different from a proper studio.

"Dang, girl. What can you do?"

"I've been in competitions. I was Clara in a performance of the nutcracker; you know the little girl who dreams the whole thing up? I was in Swan Lake. I love ballet, but I have the most fun when I mix it with contemporary or pop. I like to shake things up a little bit," Brooke Lynn laughed, thinking back to all the competitions she had ever been in. She was always revered for being beautiful and graceful but scorned upon for not keeping things purely ballet. She always carried that spite with her.

"Okay, girl, but how many spins can you do?"

"Pirouettes? I know I can do ten, but I haven't really tried to go for more."

"Show. Us."

Brooke laughed at Ariel's enthusiasm, but when her giggles died down, she felt all eyes on her. So she stood up.

"I'm just in my socks and this hardwood floor is kind of slippery, but I'll see what I can do."

Deep breath, fixed posture, arms gliding from first position into second, and then she launched into her fouettes. She counted, one, two, three, all the way up to thirteen before she had to stop.

She grinned as Ariel, Yvie, and A'keria clapped for her, then looked over to Vanessa, who had a starstruck look in her eyes.

"You good, Vanj?"

"Huh?" Vanessa shook herself from her daze and fixed on a smile. "Oh, yeah. I was just trying to go back and count how many spins that was."

"Thirteen," Brooke answered. "New record."

And even though she felt great, she couldn't help but keep thinking back to the look in Vanessa's eyes. Different but definitely not bad. Brooke wasn't even quite sure how it made her feel yet. But if the warmth in her chest was anything to go by, she would have to be real careful.

-+-

The sun was setting and by now the room had fallen into general chatting.

"So what's the deal with Nina and Shuga?"

"What do you mean?"

Everybody was in their own bed except Vanessa and Brooke, of course. Brooke was sitting on the spare bed with her back up against the wall, and Vanessa had her head in Brooke's lap where she was unapologetically enjoying the feeling of Brooke's nimble fingers running through her hair and across her scalp.

With Brooke's question, though, she turned herself to look up at the other girl.

"Like, are they..."

"Together?" Vanessa finished. Brooke nodded. "No. They're just really great friends. If you ask me, they're practically sisters at this point." Vanessa turned and got comfortable again in Brooke's lap. "I'm not quite sure where they lie on the whole spectrum, but I know that they are both LGBT. I think Shuga might be bi since I've definitely heard her say some colorful things about men, but Nina? No clue."

"Does anybody really know?" Yvie asked from above them.

"I sure as hell don't," Ariel replied. You could barely see A'keria nod her head in agreement.

"What I _do_ know," Vanessa mumbled into Brooke's thigh, "Is that I'm fucking tired."

"It's not even seven yet," Ariel commented, even though she was in her bunk curled up under blankets.

"Well, all this kiki-in' has got me pooped out. Maybe I should go home and take a nap."

A chorus of protests assaulted Vanessa, who just groaned and threw a hand over her face.

"Why not just take a nap here?" Brooke asked, and Vanessa moved her hand to look up at Brooke from her place in the girl's lap.

"Girl, I'm on top of you," she rolled her eyes as she heard some snickering from the other girls, "shut up, hoes."

Brooke ignored the other three girls, which Vanjie appreciated. "Well, it's not like you haven't been laying here for a while, now. I don't mind, trust me."

Vanessa turned her head over her shoulder and glanced up at Brooke Lynn. "You sure?"

"Positive."

With a bright smile and warm tone, Vanessa was damn well convinced. Okay, maybe she was practically touching her crush's crotch, and her libido and dirty thoughts would _not_ let her forget it, but she was too damn tired to argue with herself and move. Besides, Brooke didn't mind, or if she did, she was quite the actress.

Yet Vanessa couldn't help but wonder if Brooke would change the way she behaved around Vanessa if she knew that she was the object of the girl's affection.

-+-

Sometimes Vanessa felt guilty for spending all her time at the center. It was her mom's idea for her to hang out there, but she couldn't have known that she would practically lose her daughter to the place.

But if she cared, she didn't let on. She always smiled, asked about Vanessa's day, her friends, the gossip.

Vanessa's mom was young. Vanessa wouldn't ask for anybody else, though. Her momma was better than any of her friends' moms who kicked them out, that's for sure.

So even though they struggled with money and therefore didn't live the most luxurious or privileged life, Vanessa didn't care; her mom was the hardest working woman she knew. She worked two jobs to keep a house over their heads and food on the table, yet still always found time to be with her daughter and give her love and support.

It was already dark outside when Vanessa got back to her apartment. She slammed the big wooden door shut behind her and went down securing all the various locks on the door before nudging her shoes off and going to the tiny kitchen to get water.

Light from a TV reflected on the wall outside her mother's room, and Vanessa could hear her mom swearing at the characters in whatever show she was watching. She set her cup down and walked over to the open door, not bothering to say anything as she walked over to the bed and flopped onto it.

"Hi Momma," she groaned into the bedsheets.

"Hi, chica! How are you, baby?"

Vanessa just moaned into the sheets and adjusted herself onto the bed next to her mom. She felt her mom's soothing hand start rubbing up and down her back, instantly releasing all tension she didn't know she had in her shoulders.

Vanessa made a noise to signify how average she felt. "Normal day. The girls kept teasing me though."

"Ooh, about what?"

"Momma!"

"I'm just _curious_ chica, you know I'll kill 'em if you want me to."

"Don't kill them."

Then a minute later, "...There's this girl."

"No me digas!"

Vanessa didn't even have to look at her mom to know the look on her face. She could picture the smirk, with the sappy goo-goo eyes. She'd seen it before, and she knew she would see it a million more times.

"What's her name?"

"Brooke Lynn. Yes, I have a picture on my phone, and yes, you can see." Vanessa unlocked her phone and found a good picture with Brooke then passed the phone over to her mom and slumped back down as her mom studied it.

After a few minutes of silence, Vanessa was getting impatient- if not nervous. "Well?"

"She's skinny."

Vanessa snorted. "Yeah, momma, she's skinny. She's also a tall, blonde, white girl."

She laughed quietly into the sheets when her mom lightly smacked her on the head for being a smartass.

"Where's she from?"

"She moved here from Canada three-ish years ago."

"Ooh, get you that Canadian bacon, chica."

This time it was her turn to swat at her mom.

-+-

Over an hour of chit-chatting and crush gossip later, Vanessa had fallen asleep in her mom's bed.

However common of an occurrence it was, Vanessa never stopped loving feeling like a kid again when it was her mom waking her up in the morning instead of an alarm.

After grabbing a bottle of water, an apple, and a piece of toast, she called out a goodbye to her mom as she left the apartment for school, pretending she didn't hear her mother's call of "get that Canadian bacon!" as she closed the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say that I definitely used Cynthia Lee Fontaine as inspiration for Vanjie's mom.  
> "No me digas"= you don't say!


End file.
